State Fair

What is fall without going to the South Carolina State Fair??

I actually don't ride the rides...I have this thing about rides that they put up and take down in two weeks...just doesn't seem like a good idea. BUT...I love getting a corn dog! Last year I was sick during the fair so I went without eating a corn dog, so this year I went twice and got two corn dogs. My mom, sister and I love to walk around and people watch (some really interesting characters show up for the fair) then go through all the exhibits. The cake ones are the coolest, I love all the crazy things they can make cakes into.

Monday night I went with Mom, Dad and Aimée...

We were really excited about our corn dogs...

Dad and Aimée were also so REALLY excited about their fair food (I'm pretty sure my dad is making fun of me in this picture).

Then on Friday night I went with Josh, Rick, and Angie to see the David Crowder Band. They were really good! Josh bought the tickets when he first heard they would be at the fair. I really didn't think much about the concert because I didn't think I knew any songs. I ended up knowing three of them!

The David Crowder Band

(apparently this is not a very flattering shirt)

You can find all kinds of crazy things to eat the fair...for example, where else can you buy fried Oreos, fried Snickers, fried cookie dough and FRIED BUTTER!?!?

I thought all those fried desserts sounded gross so I didn't try any, but Josh did! Nobody was brave enough to try the fried butter though....maybe next year?

Little Ladybug

Kelli, a girl I went to high school with, has a super cute blog... and is doing a really fun blogging activity where you link up a fall themed picture. While I don't have any children of my own to photograph, I do have my sweet baby-Lorelai!

Happy Fall!

Recipe

I have had several people ask me about the recipe for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Its a treasured recipe where I grew up so I guess I can share it with y'all... :)

The BEST Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 (16 oz) can solid pack pumpkin
1 cup real semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. Cream butter, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, mix well.

Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. (I actually bake mine for 15-16 minutes, but that might just be my oven)


To see Aimée's take on these cookies click here.

Baking Goodness

For those of you who really know me, you know that I am not a baker. That is totally Aimée's field. BUT...every October when we were little my mom would make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We looked forward to baking these cookies with her all year long. So in keeping with tradition I baked today...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
The part I love about baking is getting to use my Kitchen Aid mixer. My grandmother gave it to me as a wedding present and I LOVE it, but let's face it...it doesn't get much use. LoL.

The part I don't like about baking is the huge mess. Baking for me is never a clean process.

But the finished product is so tasty!!

Getting Crafty

While blog surfing I stumbled across a tutorial for a cute fall wreath. It inspired me to be a little crafty so I called Aimée (who is always crafty) and asked if she wanted to make wreaths with me. We went to Hobby Lobby and bought all our supplies and headed back to my house to make wreaths AND watch the Carolina/Alabama game.

Here is Aimée's excited crafting face!

It was a really simple process actually...

1. we cut the burlap into four strips
2. wrap two of the strips around your wreath
3. thread twine through one side of each of the remaining two strips then gather like a ruffle
4. hot glue into place

5. making flowers

The tricky part was making the flowers. You had to hold the poly-satin over a flame to melt the edges, which causes them to curl up. The flowers themselves weren't hard to make, you just had to be careful and not catch the materials on fire when your melted the edges.

Here is our safety cup of water...JUST in case. Aimée and I have been know to catch kitchens on fire.

6. sew buttons into the middle of the flowers to keep them together
7. hot glue to wreath

Hooray for being crafty!!!